Review – Anker 25W 5A 5-Port USB Wall Charger Desktop Charger

I saw this desktop USB charger the other day whilst procrastinating from revision and thought it was a neat idea. By our bed at home we had separate USB chargers plugged into a powerstrip. It was a bit of a mess, but it worked for charging our various gadgets. The Anker Desktop charger looked a bit of a blessing and it is!

A little box just over 1 inch deep contains five USB ports for charging your various gadgets. Total overall output is 5 amps split between the 5 ports. Each port has a specific output and they are labelled individually. The iPad ports output 2.1amps each, the Samsung Tab port outputs 1.3A, and the iPhone and Android ports both output 1amp. Power input is 100-240V AC, so the device itself is also ready for international travel with the addition of a local plug for your exotic destination of choice.

Each of the ports should work fine for whatever device you want, but obviously an iPad or Android tablet plugged into the 1A ports will charge slowly. Conversely, your device will only take the maximum current that it safely can meaning you don’t need to worry about ‘over powering’ your phone, or whatever the gadget is that you are charging.

I noticed the device got warm when I was charging four things, not hot but just warm. However, it was not noticeably warmer than a standard USB charger. Some reviews on Amazon stated a problem with a high pitched whine or noise being emitted from the unit under load. This was apparently a problem with a bad batch, and the unit that I have purchased makes no such noise.

The only device that was a bit of a pain was the PS Vita, because Sony has done some proprietary crap to their USB charging solution. At least it works on at least one of the ports!

Charging the PS Vita with the Desktop Charger
Overall, this is a great little gadget for under £15! It has enabled me to stop using four separate USB chargers and the mass of cables that go with them. No more do I have to use a power strip to charge all my gadgets, and the bulk that that brings with it. It’s also much easier to put the chargers away now than it was before meaning I’m much more likely to unplug the charger when it’s not being used.

If you have to charge more than a few things via USB then this desktop USB charger is a great deal and one you should think about buying!